Structure dataset 3: Saramaccan

Saramaccan is one of the maroon creole languages of Surinam. It is spoken by the Saramaccan and Matawai tribes. The sociolinguistic situation of Saramaccan at the present is unclear, as a significant part of the population has moved away from the original maroon settlements on the Suriname River to the following three main locations for different reasons: Paramaribo, the capital of Surinam, for reasons of employment, and as a refuge from the civil war; French Guiana also as a refuge because of the war; and the Netherlands as an emigrant destination. The total number of speakers (in Surinam and in the diaspora) has been estimated as up to 50.000. Little detailed work has been done on internal variation in Saramaccan. Upriver (líbase) and downriver (básuse) dialects can be distinguished, as well as a separate Matawai dialect spoken on the Saramacca River. The default lect chosen for the description in APiCS is roughly the Básuse-dialect, due to the fact that the authors have first-hand experience with this variety.